Two Guys and a Gal: Nine Year Old Boys

How did this happen? I can't believe that my baby boys have turned 9 years old. The time has absolutely flown by. They have changed and grown so much, especially in the past year. I remember when they started kindergarten and seeing the 4th and 5th graders and thinking how huge those kids looked - now my boys will be in the 4th grade and will be one of the big kids. There is no "little boy" left in them - they are almost in that pre-teen bracket, which completely blows my mind.

Their relationship has not changed all that much. They are still either the best of friends of worst of enemies. I hear Luke scream "RYAN" at least 5 times a day and Ryan call Luke a variety of not very nice names. But if you wait a few minutes, they will peacefully play with their animals or legos together, or turn a box into some random joint creation.

And as any mom with at least 2 boys know - when you put 2 together all sorts of silliness and craziness comes out (they totally feed off of each other-I don't think it's the same kind of experience with just 1 boy).They are all boy all the time - lots of 9 year old potty humor, silly/stupid jokes. as many pranks as they can think of, and lots and lots of rough house/wrestling. They are great at entertaining and irritating each other.

Ryan feeds off of human interaction. He thinks that he must be entertained at all times by someone other than himself. But Ryan also has a kind heart and truly cares about how others feel when the situation warrants it. He is loving and crazy and emotional all at the same time.

Luke is his own person at all times. He is fiercely independent and is content with hanging out with only himself or with others. He's laid back and extremely creative and messy. He reminds us of Pig Pen from Peanuts - there is always a path of destruction in his wake. Luke is super inquisitive and has a thirst for knowledge and justice. He can be really fun to talk to about world events.

For their birthday this year we took them and a few of their friends to a mini golf/go-cart place.

Luke will be a terrifying driver when he turns 16. He was all over the road and spent more of his time screaming at the other drivers than watching the road-resulting in him crashing out twice. But he also had a blast-he is always enjoying the moment to its fullest.

Ryan will be in charge of the car when he gets his licence. He is cautious and observant - as he is in most things, Ryan is a hard worker and takes his responsibilities seriously.

This was also year 2 of a Minecraft theme. I made a cake for them last year, but opted for cookies and easy cupcakes this year. Luke made homemade Creeper flags to put on the cupcakes. Overall, the boys and their friends had a blast. The party location was in north Denver, so Greg and I drove the boys (7 total) - it took us a few hours for our ears to quit ringing from all of the noise.

They really do grow up so fast!